Photograph: A Portrait of Reflection

Photograph is a melancholic, sometimes dark, walk down memory lane. It is a highly story-driven game; playing it fleshes out the PC as a person with lots of past regrets

The memories that the PC recounts to us, the reader, are all about his past relationships, yet the PC is crushingly alone, both physically and emotionally. The PC’s memories are frequently tinged with regret, yet the narrator’s resigned tone kept the game from sinking into navel-gazing angst. I was also very pleased at the way in which the PC’s memories took on weight in the ‘real’ world.

Photograph is a more open-ended work of IF, in that you can explore the PC’s memories in any order and revisit them at any time, though certain events must be triggered to progress in the story.

Well-characterised, contemplative and well-implemented, it’s no surprise Photograph did as well as it did in the IFComp and XYZZY awards.